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6 Reasons to Shop at Your Local Farmers Market

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fresh produce from your local farmers market

The 2016 Farmers Market season is just getting started, and we’re all waiting with anticipation for the fresh, local foods they’ll bring! But access to amazing local produce isn’t the only reason to shop at a farmers’ market. Farmers markets provide additional benefits that you may not know about, for your body, community, and wallet. A regular trip to a farmers market is one of the best ways to connect with where your food comes from. Meeting and talking to farmers and food artisans is a great opportunity to learn more about how and where food is produced.  Read on for more reasons why you should check out your local farmers market this season!

1. Taste the difference.
Farmer’s markets offer the freshest food around—usually only hours from the field—so you get top quality, perfectly ripe flavor.

2. Help the environment.
Eating locally saves vast amounts of packaging waste and energy required to ship food around the globe.

3. Eat Seasonally
Farmer’s markets are filled with food that is fresh and ripe. Because it was grown locally, there is a good chance that the apple you buy from the farmer was picked a few days ago. This is virtually impossible in a big supermarket.

Female hands holding an aubergine

4. Become part of your community.
Festive and lively, farmer’s markets are social venues where you bump into friends and meet local farmers face to face.

5. Save money.
Buying from farmers eliminates the cost of the middleman and pricey shipping, so you get more value for your dollar. There are also many farmers that carry products that are not technically “organic,” (as this is a costly and often beurocratic-heavy process), but have many low-priced foods that are pesticide and herbicide free.

6. Find new cooking ideas.
Community chefs at the farmer’s market are often happy to share recipes for in-season foods.

Need help finding your local farmers market?  Check the DMM Calendar for our list of markets!

Grateful to be in Dayton

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I moved back to the Dayton area in April this year, and I admit the transition was not without trepidation. I grew up in Huber Heights, studied political science at Ohio State, and with the exception of a two-year stint back in the area during 2003-2005, I’ve lived most of my adult life in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Los Angeles. It’s safe to say I’m a bit of a big city guy.

Like others that I’ve met who’ve left and come back, I’m here to be closer to family. But since I’ve spent so much of my adult life away from Dayton, I’ve come back as a bit of an outsider. I’m discovering the city as one would any “new” place. This outsider’s status, coupled with a personal training career that I hadn’t even contemplated the last time I lived here, is inspiring in me a feeling I didn’t anticipate back in April.

NEON

Gratitude, and not simply because I’m closer to family.

Gratitude for the Dayton community itself. I’m not enjoying myself “despite being in Dayton,” but because of it.

You know by now my approach to fitness is that health and wellness are inextricably linked to the rest of our lives. I want my clients to learn how to pay attention to what matters most in their lives. I don’t want my clients (or readers) to obsess about fitness, but to see it as an avenue toward healthier, more vibrant, more connected living. This sort of life in Dayton includes things like exploring challenging independent movies, creative new art galleries, empowered understanding of our own sensuality, and venerable hometown institutions.

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Blush Boudoir’s studio in a historic house downtown.

It’s easy, isn’t it, to ignore these things. We get so locked into our jobs, responsibilities, and commutes that we forget to see what is around us. I’ve been working with a remote client to build “mindful” lunches into her weekly routine. We came up with the concept together after realizing that she often works straight through lunch, picking at food here and there but never stopping to enjoy. She took her first mindful lunch last week, and you know what she found?

Quiet. Peace. Strategic thinking. When she gave herself permission to slow down, unplug, and pay attention to what she was eating, I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that she found inspiration.

Dayton’s pace is undeniably slower than New York’s, but with maturity, experience, and more than a few stumbles under my belt, I feel better equipped now to enjoy what my hometown has to offer. Now when I travel to New York (or wherever) I find myself bringing a bit more of Dayton with me.

DCDC

 

If you’re gathering with family tomorrow, I hope you’ll take a few moments to contemplate the community we live in. I hope you’ll make it a point in the coming weeks to shop local, buy someone you love a surprise cupcake, or take an interesting yoga class. You want to be healthy? It’s not just about diet, exercise, and sleep–although all three of those things are important. You also need to feel inspired, connected, and stimulated. I’m proud to call myself a Daytonian, but from a health and wellness perspective I’m proud to live in a city in which I know my clients can become the best possible version of themselves.

 

 

 

 

Avoid Mall Crowds, Find Gifts at 2nd Street Market!

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Walt’s Salsas and Sauces: Great Local Gift Idea

Are you tired of wrestling a redneck for the latest xbox at Wal-Mart?  Behind on Christmas shopping?  Sick of long checkout lines at the mall or department stores? The Food Adventures Crew feels your pain.  Have you thought about shopping for unique Christmas Gifts at Dayton’s 2nd Street Market?  We think it is the perfect place to find unique Christmas Gifts, birthday gifts or any gift occasion for that matter.   This is part 2 of our market series (last week was FOOD, CLICK HERE to view).

Follow our advice and you’re sure to be a hit with the family, with some of the best local gifts around.

Consider this The Big Ragu, Hungry Jax and Chef House’s,  Gift Giving guide to the 2nd street Market with a Food Adventure twist.

 

HERE’S THE SKINNY:

 — The 2nd Street Market is located near downtown at 600 E. 2nd Street and is open 3 days: Thursday & Friday 11am-3pm,  and Saturday 8am – 3pm.

Some of the Best Toffee on Earth: Click to enlarge this local treasure

— Dozens of local vendors from crafts to wine, and of course, local foodstuffs.

 

MUST GIFTS:

— THE TOFFEE from SWEET NOTHINGS : Our favorite flavor is the Dark Almond Sea Salt Toffee.  Actually, all of the toffees use sea salt.  Other great flavors are Milk Chocolate Macadamia Nut and Dark Chocolate Cashew.  A great gift for the chocolate lovers in the family.  The Big Ragu considers Sweet Nothings his favorite toffee of all time.

 

— THE OLIVE OILS from THE OLIVE TREE : Have friends or family that love to cook ? Here is a perfect gift idea.  This vendor has some amazing, flavor infused olive oils.  May we suggest our favorite, the Sundried Tomato Parmesan Garlic Olive Oil.  You can actually sample all of the olive oils and choose your favorite from the many unique flavors.  We also love the Basil Flavored Olive Oil and the Strawberry Peach Balsamic Vinegar Olive Oil.

 

— SALSA and SAUCES from WALT’S HOMEMADE SALSA :  Family owned operation, selling jars of salsas in various styles and spiciness.  Some extra hot, some medium and some mild, their products are extremely tasty.  You can even sample Walt’s new lines of BBQ Sauces that are also available by the jar.  Their gift baskets make a fun Christmas present with a local twist !

 

— HOMEMADE ITEMS from MONCO INDUSTRIES:  Monco is a local company that provides jobs for special needs people or local residents with disabilities.  The result is a win-win for the community.  Great gifts made by a great organization.  Our favorite gifts here are the pet treats and the stuffed animals.  Make sure you stop by and get a gift from this company, and share the true meaning of Christmas.

 

— HANDCRAFTED BELTS and LEATHER CUFFS from VINTAGELIZ 1974:  We say, “these gifts are pretty kick ass.”  Timeless, leather accessories, made by hand in Dayton.  Take some time to check out this cool vendor.

 

— SCARVES from NEW WORLD ALPACA TEXTILES:  Perfect winter gift!  They have various items made with fleece from alpaca animals that are raised in a local farm in Brookville.  The also sell socks and beautiful artisan rugs !   Great gifts this time of the year.

 

Must Gifts: The Specialty Olive Oils at The Olive Tree

Honorable Mention:  The Wine Gallery also has some good deals on unique wines, and a friendly service staff.  Want unique?  How about Maria’s Unique Foods, with wild selections like jars of pickled eggs in various flavors.  They also have great gift basket ideas.

For all of us that love to buy local when we can, the 2nd Street market is a great place to ‘put your money where your mouth is. ‘  We have mentioned some of our favorites, but there are many more vendors with great gift ideas.  Avoid the crowds SHOP LOCAL!

FOOD ADVENTURES would like to take this time to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  May the Holiday Season bring you joyous times with friends and family.  We are sincerely grateful with the overwhelming feedback received with our blog and  have some exciting plans in store for 2014.   We appreciate each and every one of you for taking the time to read and comment on our social media outlets.

Call us if you need a Santa, We don’t even need padding.  Happy shopping !!

Did you know that FOOD ADVENTURES  have a loyal following on Facebook?  CLICK HERE TO “LIKE” THEM and join the party !

Please comment below on our photo albums, no borrowed stock photos or copied pinterest pics here!  All photos are original, like us!

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Sundried Tomato Parmesan Garlic Olive Oil
Sundried Tomato Parmesan Garlic Olive Oil

Where to Buy (Not Just Local) Music Locally

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Maybe you’re new to our community and just need to know where to go.  Maybe you’ve lived here all your life and have decided that this is the year you’re going to do your holiday shopping locally.  Maybe you’re participating in Small Business Saturday.  Or maybe the thought of braving the lines at your local big box store makes you just a tad nauseous.  Whatever your reasons, here’s a roundup of local stores where you can music (and at most them, movies, video games and other fun stuff):

Toxic Beauty Record and Music Gallery

220 Xenia Ave
Yellow Springs, OH, 45387

This small Yellow Springs store specializes in new and used vinyl and can special order new titles for you.  They also carry a beautiful array of collectible gig posters (many are very rare) and from time to time has collectible records from Jack White’s Third Man Records.

GameSwap Kettering

2294 E. Dorothy Lane
Kettering, OH, 45420

This Kettering store is fairly new (they opened in April of 2009) and continually expanding their selection.  They carry a variety of formats of used music (CDs, vinyl, cassette and even 8track), movies (DVD, VHS and laserdisc) and video games (everything from Atari to Xbox360) as well as a small selection of books, accessories and the occasional action figure.

Omega Music

318 E 5th St.
Dayton, OH, 45402

This record store is new to the Oregon District, but not new to the business.  They’ve got tons of used vinyl and have been stocking up on tons of new titles on vinyl and CD since their relocation.  There’s a lot to check out at this ever-expanding store.

Second Time Around

1133 Brown Street
Dayton, Ohio 45409

Second Time Around is a staple of Brown St. that always gets big holiday crowds.  They’ve got a wide selection of used CDs, DVDs, and video games and are really constantly re-stocking the shelves with fresh merchandise.

Disc Exchange

121 Springboro Pike
Dayton, OH 45439

This is a small store near the Dayton Mall with a great selection of used CDs, video games, and DVDs.  They tend to consistently get a lot of rare films, foreign films and out of print copies of Criterion Collection DVDs and have a good selection of indie rock artists on CD.

Music Video Monday: November 22, 2010

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Later this week in the Dayton Music section, we’ll be bringing you a holiday shopping guide featuring local record stores (some of which sell movies and video games too). So I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about local record stores and keep coming back to one of my favorites that’s no longer with us, Renaissance Music. So this week’s music video isn’t exactly a music video, but longtime Daytonians will remember these great commercials for one of our great local record stores starring Mr. G.